With two penalties saved out of two, the latter of which in last Saturday’s tie with Empoli, it’s not easy to put Piotr Pardel “on the spot”. “Sure, it was a great save – Piotr Pardel, Atalanta Primavera’s goalie, recounts – but I’m most happy since it was key in getting the result: you know, that save in the opening minutes and with the match still hanging in a 0-0 draw was a huge boost of confidence. This is the second penalty I saved in 4 matches so far, if you compare it to last year’s numbers, while I was playing for the U18s, I only saved one out of five. I’ve been practicing and now I think all my efforts and dedication are paying off. I’ve entered my third season here at Atalanta and all the work carried out with my previous trainers now stands me in good stead: coach Frezzolini and coach Manini have been key figures in my personal and professional growth here”.
Despite coming off as a sub-zero iceman on the pitch, Piotr Pardel is proof that first appearances are often misleading: once “the gloves are off”, he is actually a clear-headed and outgoing lad: “That’s just the way I am: even though I usually show a rather poised demeanour, I also know when the moment calls for cheers and jokes. I still lean more towards a more serious approach, especially in job-related scenarios, because I think it helps me in better dialling in all my daily efforts towards my dream of becoming a pro”.
Piotr had been dreaming of becoming a goalkeeper ever since he was a child: “I still remember my first mittens, the same make and model Petr Cech used to wear: together with Neuer, my childhood idol, he was one of my favourite goalkeepers as a child. Nowadays, whenever I have a chance to train with the first team, I keep my eyes peeled on Musso, Carnesecchi and Rossi: each has his own playing style and I try to learn as much as I can from every single one of them. What made me fall in love with being a goalkeeper is how a unique role it is. And to think that when I was a kid I would sooner play outside the box, dribbling my way past the opponents, than staying in goal. On the other hand, I have a recording of me, around age 5 give or take, answering my father about the age-old question of what I wanted to do once I had grown and my response was the goalkeeper. I simply blurted it out, like so. And I wasn’t even playing football at the time”.
Despite such a young age, Piotr already made up his mind. Out of four siblings (namely an elder brother and two younger sisters), he was the only one to have undertaken a sporting path “I’m the only sports buff in the family, I guess that having played many sports ever since my really young age might have played a huge part in it. In addition to volleyball, I also dig mountain trekking”.
Nonetheless, football has always been a staple of Pardel’s life: “Back at home, I used to play with either my brother or my cousin, outlining a makeshift goal with either a pair of shoes or with wooden sticks. Back in the day, we hung out all together at the playground, playing football all day long. I moved my first footballing steps in my home town Marianowo, a small village with just over 1,000 inhabitants 70 km from Szczecin, where I played for 7 years before joining Atalanta. I was still playing for my hometown team when a school teacher made my name for a try-out to an Academy coach from FASE Szczecin: during my very first training I was asked where I wanted to play and I answered in goal. Since then, I have made myself at home between the three sticks”.
Piotr landed in Bergamo after a literal odyssey: “I recall my first day here very well: not only was my flight delayed due to bad weather; but it was also rerouted to Rome, hence I had to take a bus trip all the way to Bergamo. Having arrived at the Casa del Giovane at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, I barely had time to sleep a wink. Yet, once I crossed the gates of the Centro Bortolotti I felt on top of the world: it finally dawned on me that, from that moment on, I would have trained in a top-notch sporting centre. In next to no time, Atalanta provided me with an Italian teacher. Needless to say, since the very first day, I’ve been working hard to learn the language asap: being able to understand and being understood in return is truly a godsend”. Editor’s note: mission accomplished, Piotr sustained this interview entirely in Italian.
